Vasilis Raptis at the European Delirium Association conference

This November I had the pleasure to attend and present my PhD work at the European Delirium Association (EDA) annual conference held in Hamburg. This event brings together world-leading delirium researchers across the world, aiming to foster scientific exchange and interdisciplinary collaborations in delirium research and care. This year’s conference theme was “Delirium: Many Factors – One Approach”, offering talks from a wide range of disciplines very relevant to my work, including molecular biology, neuroscience, geriatrics and more.

This was my first time attending the EDA annual conference and I found it fully rewarding. It was a packed 3-day meeting, but valuable in expanding my knowledge on diverse aspects of delirium research and incorporating interdisciplinary insights into my own work. It was also a great opportunity to expand my network and increase the reach of my research to a community of like-minded researchers and healthcare professionals. 

My personal highlight was the pre-conference day dedicated to the latest research on delirium pathophysiology. These sessions offered more in-depth insight and discussions on the molecular aspect of delirium pathogenesis and novel ways to study it. It was exciting to learn more on how this field is progressing. 

Overall, I think participating in the EDA conference was an insightful experience. As someone from a biology and genetics background, there is a lot to learn about diverse perspectives on how to tackle delirium, which were evident throughout the conference. 

Research work on delirium genetics now published

The work that I presented at the EDA conference, about genetic risk factors for delirium, has recently been published in the scientific journal Nature Aging. In this paper, which is part of my PhD research, we conducted the largest to-date investigation of DNA changes that can contribute to delirium risk. 

We highlight the APOE gene as a strong delirium risk factor. APOE is well known for increasing the risk of someone developing Alzheimer disease; here we provided evidence that it also increases delirium risk partially independent of dementia. 

We also identified circulating blood proteins that can predict future delirium even years in advance, including markers of brain injury, systemic and nervous system inflammation. By integrating genetic and proteomic evidence, we additionally indicate potentially useful drug target proteins for delirium. 

Overall, this research provides new insight into the complex delirium aetiology and the poorly understood but the very important link between delirium and future risk of dementia.

Useful links:

• Full paper link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-025-01018-6
• University press release: https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/study-finds-gene-linked-with-risk-of-delirium
• European Delirium Association: https://www.europeandeliriumassociation.org/